Just Walking Around

Bandra Fair…..

When you say Fair or Jatra what comes to your mind..the huge crowds , floodlight paths leading upto the sanctum sanctorum of a holy place, giggling kids , protective parents hold their children, the.. Ferries Wheels (Giant Wheels) , the food stalls , all the nick-knacks and the hearts filled with joy. Last Sunday we as in me and the missus decided to relive our childhood days through our kids Netra and Bhakti.We decided to visit the famous Bandr Fair..

The Bandra Fair is celebrated in the pious vicinity of the Mount Mary Church in Bandra . It starts on the Sunday following September 8^th , the birth day of Mother Mary , mother of Jesus the Son of God.The Bandra Fair is commemoration of the Nativity of Mary or the Birth of the Virgin Mary and celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of  the Mount or locally called as the Mount Mary Church a Roman Catholic Church located at Bandra . According to historical records, the statue of ‘Our Lady of Navigators’ was in the chapel at the mount from 1700 to 1760. It is said that in 1760 Arab pirates attacked Bandra and they chopped one of the arm of the statue. The statue was later reinstalled in 1761. Over the years the Virgin of the Mount came to be known in different names in colloquial Marathi, ‘Matha Mavli’, ‘Mothi Mavli’ and now ‘Mot Mavli’ The 9 days before the Bandra Fair, from 1 September, 2017 to 9 September, 2017, Mount Mary Basilica performs “Novena” (prayer) for the Blessed Virgin Mary

The actual fair starts on the 10^th day .It is estimated that the Bandra Fair is around 300 years old. The fair started when a statue of Mother Mary was found floating in the Arabian Sea between 1700 and 1760, which, according to a legend, a Koli fisherman had dreamt about a few years earlier.

During the Bandra Fair, the entire area is decorated with festoons and buntings. Besides the religious experience, Bandra Fair also includes the social experience of relaxing, camaraderie, alms-giving and enjoyment. There is an atmosphere of fun as we go through the various stalls that constitute the Fair. During Mumbai’s Bandra Fair, 430 temporary stalls selling religious artifacts, food, toys, clothes, handicraft items, etc, are set up at Mount Mary Church, Kane Road, Mt Mary Road, Eastern steps of Mount Mary Church, St John Baptist Road and Rebello Road. Most of these stalls are allocated to local residents.

We took a rickshaw from Sion to reach this place. In hindsight it was the best deciosn as we could avoid getting trapped in the traffic jams along the road as the rickshaw wallah deftly maneuvered the rick going extreme left or zig zag thorugh the bumper to bumber traffic from Bandra Reclamation towards Mount Mary Roads. We alighted at Kaner road and decided to walk the rest of the away to experience the thrill of the Fair. Our forst stop was obviously the Giant Wheel for the kids , though little Bhakti was a little terrified still she enjoyed and had fun holding her elder sister Netra for dear life. 

Next stop was the multi coloroured merry go round in shape of gleaming cars and all lighted up. This Bhakti enjoyed with full vigour. Once done we started to walk further looking at all the stalls lining the streets. We picked a couple of Tiara’s for the kids with white flowers , wearing them they looked like cute Flower girls from a Christian weddings. We mobved along , a stall selling bright pink Cotton Candy Floss caught my eye as also of my mischievous little princess. Bought the soft candy floss and enjoyed its sweet flavor. As we walked further we noticed many more stalls.

There were stalls , which sold roasted grams, sweet items, religious objects like wax figures of the Virgin Mary, along with an assortment of candles shaped like hands, feet and various other parts of the body. The sick and suffering choose one that corresponds to their ailment and light it in Church, with the pious hope that Mother Mary will consider their appeals for help.

As we reached the Church we could see the preparation of the late mass in the small ground adjoining the Chruch. We then entered the Church to a spellbinding view. The Statue of Virgin mary with the child Jesus was decorated with fresh flower arches and satin ribbons. Looking at her face you could feel the energy radiating in the holy precinct. We folded our hand in reverence and prayed . It does not matter of which religion you belong as long as you have faith in the Higher power in the sky. We saw many non catholics who had come from far sub-urbs with families in tow offering candles and offering a silent prayer. I enjoyed looking at the frescos on the walls of the Church depicting the birth of Christ , the The 3 wise men and teir joyney to find the baby Jesus on the dark and silent night of Christmas eve.The rising star and the smiling baby Jesus born in the barn.The experience was exherelating .We then moved out to see the spectacular and prestine white Arches brightly lit with the staue of Mother Mary . The monument looking beautiful with the dark sky in back drop.

We decided to walk back to the base. Lining the church steps were stalls selling sweets and  food delicacies such as Mawa Pedha, Home-made Cakes (wine, Plum, walnut, dates), Guava cheese, Fuggias, Kadio Bodia (Goan dish made of sugar and flour), Sorpotel, Vindaloo, Dodol (Goan sweet), etc. Bought some Goan authentic Khaja those sweet sticks and later some toys from the neighbouring stalls. There were stalls selling the famous Aam poli and Fanas poli and some selling salted namkeens brought from Kerala.

 We descended the steps and reached the street below . Ready to leave I Looked back one last time at the Church , it was glowing in the lights or was it the rays of hope  emanating from the Mother herself , spreading a halo of reassurance among all those who visited her in this earthly abode…..